Half-carvels are vessels on which the lowest part of the hull is built with overlapping strakes of planking, referred to as clinker

construction, and the uppermost parts of the hull are constructed with the planks laid side by side, in the carvel fashion. These

mixed planking constructions occurred in the 16th century (as far as we know), but became very common in later centuries.

The aim of this article is to highlight the existence of different versions of clinker construction, and to discuss some reasons

behind the selection of the technique.